Month: February 2015

Today our sweet little guy turns one month old. It’s a bit hard to believe that he has already been here that long, but as Ava’s first pediatrician in San Diego told us years ago, “the days will seem long but the months will fly by.” He was right about that. So far our initial observations of Enzo are that he is perfectly healthy and growing fast. He seems to spend more and more time awake every day, however the majority of his time is still spent sleeping and eating. In his case, no news is good news, and that’s pretty much where we’re at. He has had a couple checkups so far and everything looks perfect, so we’re very thankful. I can’t wait to see him smile for the first time, and I love holding him and watching him look around to examine his surroundings.

One thing I can say for sure about Enzo is that he is the loudest nighttime baby we’ve had. He grunts, snorts, and moans all night long. It’s probably fair to say that we got off easy with Ava when it came to sleeping, but Elise and Enzo have been more of a prototypical baby in that respect. Ava was sleeping through the night by the time she was a month old, and I remember feeling at that time that all the hype you hear about sleepless nights with babies was totally overblown. The reality was we just got lucky with Ava when it came to sleeping, and even today she continues to be the heaviest sleeper of the bunch.

Now that Grandma and Grandpa have been gone for a bit, the rest of us have had a chance to get into a normal groove, and things are going well. The girls have adjusted nicely to having a baby in the house. The weather is starting to get better and Spring is just around the corner, so it feels like we’re on the up and up. Ava is transitioning from her weekly art class to a weekly music class (which makes me very happy) and she seems to be enjoying it so far. Very soon she and I will also be going to a soccer class on Saturday mornings. I love the idea of exposing each of our kids to a variety of activities and seeing what sticks. The main thing for me, particularly on the weekends, is to get up early with the girls and keep them occupied so that Mom and Enzo can sleep in. There is no question that Jessica has it much harder than I do when it comes to caring for Enzo in the middle of the night, so I want to do whatever I can to take some of the load off of her.

Yesterday was my last day at Amazon. I was looking back through old posts on our website and realized that my career as a full-time employee at Amazon lasted exactly two years and two days. Certainly not as long as I expected, but as I’ve said in the past, everything about my time at Amazon happened faster than I expected, including my exit. I’ve heard many people at Amazon say that one year at Amazon is like two years anywhere else; this is because of how fast you work and how much you’re expected to get done. I personally hardly ever felt like we were under unrealistic expectations, but I also like to stay busy as often as possible. There is no question that I gained a ton of valuable experience and knowledge during my time there, and I’m very excited to apply all of it towards my new role at Microsoft.

My final day was a good one. There was no work for me to do, so I spent the day meeting with various people that I’ve become friends with during my time there to talk about why I’m switching jobs. The response I received was 100% positive and everyone agrees that I’m doing the right thing. I think the thing that felt best about my departure was that not only would my own team welcome me back anytime, but I was also told by two other teams that they would also be happy to have me should things not work out at Microsoft. It felt really great to hear that, and by no means would I ever discredit the thought of someday returning to Amazon. They are a world-class company whom I was always proud to represent, so who knows? It’s important to me never to burn a bridge, but for now I will continue to be a loyal Amazon customer, while my professional focus shifts entirely towards Microsoft. I’m really excited about this new opportunity with Microsoft and can’t wait to get started on Monday. Plenty of updates on that coming soon.

Today should be a fun day for us; we’re doing our monthly Costco trip later this morning, and having our friends Laurel, Solana, Josh, and their son Ronin over for dinner this evening. We’re doing kind of a potluck thing, but Jess and I are making tacos, so that should be fun. I’m also hoping to squeeze in a run somewhere in between. Jessica and I have both been running for the last few weeks and we’re enjoying it. I used to run at the athletic club when I lived in Las Vegas, and after a while I got to a point where I could run 10 miles without stopping, but then I tore my meniscus and gave it up. I’ve been wanting to get back into it for a while now, but decided to wait until after Enzo was born because I knew Jessica was also interested in running and I didn’t want her to feel excluded.

Although we don’t run together (because someone has to be home with the kids) we’re both enjoying it, mainly because it gives you a chance to get away and clear your mind. When I first started running, the route I was taking was only 2.25 miles. I would get home exhausted, but after a couple weeks I found myself taking a route twice as long and finishing not nearly as tired. I’ve found that running is entirely a mental battle, and that’s actually my favorite part about it. I learned from a Navy Seals book I read a while back that the mind will always give out before the body does, so I will sometimes remind myself of that when necessary. One thing I’ve learned about running is that its best to keep your mind occupied with something other than running. Never think about how far away the finish line is. You see a lot of people out running with headphones on, but I have headphones on all the time at work, so I prefer not to wear them when I run. Instead of listening to music while I run, I think about music. Specifically I think about music theory and how it pertains to the guitar fretboard. I’ve found that this works well for me because music theory is complicated and requires a fair amount of concentration. If my mind is focused on the intricacies of music theory and guitar, that means that its not focused on the run, meaning that my body gets into a comfortable pace and before I know it, the run is complete. The best part is that I’m simultaneously becoming a better musician while I exercise. It’s all about finding something that works for you.

Jessica will be doing Enzo’s first monthly photo later today, so I plan to include it on my post this Monday. Monday is a big day for me (for a variety of reasons) so I’m looking forward to writing another post that night. Happy weekend!

Yesterday morning Amy and Tom flew home to Colorado, meaning the five of us are officially on our own now. Amy had spent about a month with us, and Tom came to join her for the final week of her stay. As always, they were both extremely helpful in so many areas. Whether it’s watching the kids, helping out with projects around the house, or taking care of a meal, they always go out of their way to make things a bit easier for us; obviously we appreciate everything they do very much. It’s funny because I don’t remember being this focused on the fact that we were ‘on our own’ after Amy left when either of the girls were born. Maybe its different now because the kids officially outnumber the parents. I guess that has to play a part in it. I’m not worried or anything; we’re going to be just fine, but I have to acknowledge the fact that it really does feel a little different this time around.

Last week was a really busy week for me, mainly because in addition to working my normal schedule at Amazon, I also bartended at El Gaucho on Friday and Saturday night for their Valentine’s Weekend Cabaret shows. We did one show on Friday night and two shows on Saturday night, each of which was sold out. It had been a full year since I worked a bartending shift but it was cool; I had a lot of fun seeing my old friends. I must admit though, I’ve gotten pretty used to sitting at a desk all day, so being on your feet running around for 10-12 hours straight with no break wasn’t exactly easy. I was exhausted after each shift, but I’m glad I did it. I spent so many years in that industry that a part of it is forever engrained in me. Although I couldn’t see myself going back to it as my full-time career, I still love being able to go in every now and then. It’s a nice social outlet for me.

Tom and I spent the day on Sunday doing maintenance on Jessica’s van. There was nothing wrong with it, but it was due for service. Between the work I did on it by myself a couple weeks ago and the work Tom and I did on Sunday, we basically gave it an entire 100,000 mile tune-up. We did new rear brakes, all new spark plugs, serviced the battery, replaced the PCV valve, replaced the cabin air filter, and inspected a ton of other things. I learned a lot in the process, and it feels good to know that you’re doing good work while simultaneously saving a significant amount of money compared to having it done at a shop. I need to do some similar work on my Acura and now I know how to do all of it, so that’s pretty cool.

Monday was also an interesting day for me because I put in my notice at Amazon. Plenty of you who read this blog already know about my new job opportunity with Microsoft, but I guess now is as good of a time as any to say publicly that I am leaving Amazon to join Microsoft as a Software Engineer on the Azure Web Team, which is the team that owns Azure.com. I wasn’t unhappy with my job at Amazon at all, and I certainly wasn’t out looking for work, but a recruiter from Microsoft found me on LinkedIn and presented me with an opportunity that I felt like I had to act on. After speaking with the hiring manager I got pretty excited about the opportunity and decided to officially apply for it. The interview process was very difficult, and I honestly didn’t feel very confident about it when it was over, but to my surprise, they decided to offer me a job.

One of the most appealing things to me about this position is the fact that my title will be ‘Software Engineer 2’. As you may already know, last year I received a degree in software engineering. Getting that degree was a lot of hard work, particularly because I was working full-time while going to school, so it feels great to validate all of that effort with a corresponding new job and title. When I think about my long-term career growth, I feel better about moving forward as a software engineer than as a web developer. Another major benefit to taking this job is that Jessica won’t have to go back to work, or at least not on any type of regular basis. It’s likely that she would still work the occasional private party, just like I did last weekend, but that’s about it. This takes a lot of pressure off her and allows her to focus more on the kids, at least for now. As previously mentioned, having a third small child in the house requires a lot of adjustments, so I’m glad she doesn’t need to worry about work for now.

The act of putting in my notice at Amazon didn’t go exactly as planned. My manager was shocked (which didn’t surprise me) and he actually went out of his way to get me to change my mind. He confided in me that, although I wasn’t supposed to find out until April 1st, I have been approved for a promotion to a Web Developer 2 role. He contacted Human Resources to find out what my new salary would be in hopes that it would persuade me to stay. I wasn’t expecting all this, and it certainly felt good to know that I had earned a promotion, but in the end I felt that backing out on Microsoft would have been unethical. I asked him for an evening to consider my options, then later that night I wrote an extensive email explaining my decision. Obviously I would never want to burn a bridge, so I was happy to hear that I had his blessing and that I was leaving on good terms. There is no doubt in my mind that I’m making the right move for my family, as well as for my career. Plenty more updates coming soon on this once I get started.

Our first day without the help of Grandma and Grandpa was an interesting one. I worked from home so that I could be there for Enzo during his little procedure. We had a normal evening at home, but then Ava started getting sick in the middle of the night. She threw up five or six times throughout the night. The poor thing couldn’t even keep juice down. I went to the store in the morning and got her Pedia-sure, Pedia-lite, saltine crackers, and bananas. Unfortunately the timing of all this is poor because I’m going to a concert this evening with a friend of mine. I bought the tickets a month ago, mostly because Jessica encouraged me to do so, but then all this happens and of course I feel terrible to leave her alone for the entire day with the kids considering that Ava is not feeling well. I checked in with Jessica throughout the day and she said Ava was doing better; she was able to eat and keep everything down. I’m not sure what the problem was but I hope it was short-lived.

Now that we’re on our own I’m sure we will all get into a regular routine pretty quickly. Elise is still having sleeping problems, so it has become a nightly occurrence for her to crawl into bed with us at some point. More often than not I wake up with her wrapped up in my arms. It doesn’t bother me having her there but I’m worried that we’re encouraging bad habits which will be difficult to break.

Speaking of our bedroom, one of the projects Jessica and I worked on while Amy was in town was painting our bedroom. We spent time looking at paint swatches from Sherwin Williams and ultimately settled on a grayish-brownish color called ‘Flexible Gray.’ Well, lets just say that its much more flexible than it is gray. Once we got it on the wall it quickly became apparent that it was actually more of a cross between pink and purple than it was between gray and brown. I have to be honest by saying that I really don’t like the color, especially for my bedroom, but I can live with it. More importantly, we learned a great lesson, which was that you always need to get a sample of the paint and put a few brush strokes of it on your wall at home in order to be sure that you really like it. Later this year we plan on painting many more rooms throughout the house, so it was good to learn this lesson early on.

That’s about it for now. Here’s a few recent photos of everyone.

The girls wearing their Team Hagy shirts in support of our friend who is fighting breast cancer

Best Friends Forever

Superbowl Sunday

Baby Enzo

It’s hard to believe, but Enzo has already been home for a week. As I write this, it was exactly one week ago to the minute that he officially entered our lives. So far everything is going excellent. He had his first checkup on Friday and everything was spot on; we won’t have to go back for another checkup until next week but there is nothing to be concerned about. He is a very happy, healthy little boy.

Here’s a few observations that I forgot to share last week on my initial post about him: like his Mommy, Enzo was born on the 28th, and like his Daddy he was born on a Wednesday night. Like both of his sisters, Enzo was born on an odd-numbered year (Ava was born in 2011 and Elise was born in 2013). Like Mommy, Daddy, and Ava, Enzo was born at the end of the month, and like Mommy, Daddy, and Elise, Enzo was born on an even-numbered day. My mom took the liberty of plugging all the kids birthdays into a website and found out that Elise and Enzo are 34 days closer in age than Ava and Elise are. I’m sure no one is more acutely aware of that than Jessica.

Although it may be too early to tell, we’re starting to get the impression that Enzo will be our most laid back and easy going baby. He probably gets that from Daddy, who prides himself on such qualities. He hardly ever cries or fusses unless he is hungry, or we’re changing his diaper. Earlier this evening we gave him his first bath and even that didn’t really upset him. It was a far cry from Ava’s experience with her first bath. I’m sure our old neighbors still haven’t forgiven us for that one. Maybe he’s trying to make it up to Jessica since he was her most difficult pregnancy.

We’ve been fortunate enough to be able to visit with several family members and friends over the past week. Dana, Brad and Anna came over for a visit on Saturday, then Kristy and Madi came to meet him on Sunday morning. He slept through most of it, but he certainly never fussed about being passed around. We definitely have a lot more introductions to make, but all in due time of course. Right now it’s all about everyone adjusting to having a new person in the house. The girls are both dealing with it in their own ways, but overall they’re doing really well. It doesn’t help that we’ve all been a little under the weather this week, but all things considered we are quite pleased with the transition.

Today is my last day off work. Part of me is sad to be going back to work already, but I’m not exactly used to being home all day everyday, so getting back into my routine will be a good thing. At least I’ve only got two work days this week before the weekend. Luckily for us Grandma Amy is still here for about 10 more days. As previously mentioned, she has been extremely helpful. Anything Jessica or the kids need, she’s on it. Doesn’t matter if it’s house cleaning, fixing meals for the girls, running errands, whatever. We’re so lucky to have her, and I enjoy her company. Since Jessica is often resting with Enzo, it’s so nice to have another adult to converse with; especially someone who is so familiar with what is going on in your world.

Grandpa Tom should be out sometime in the next week for the final leg of Amy’s stay. I’m looking forward to his arrival so we can do some work on Jessica’s van and my car. A few days ago I changed the van’s oil and filter, replaced the air filter, replaced the windshield wipers, and rotated the tires. I still need to replace the PCV valve, cabin air filter, and spark plugs, but I’d like Tom’s help with that stuff. I want to do a lot of that same stuff on my Acura as well, so it will be nice to have an extra set of hands around.

Tomorrow night I’m taking Jessica out for her long-awaited sushi dinner. We’re just going to a little local place that was advertising on Groupon. We’ve both been looking forward to it for quite a while so I hope its good. Other than that we don’t have a whole lot going on. We try to make a point and get the girls out everyday for some activity, but we usually just play it by ear depending on the weather.

Plenty of updates coming soon, but for now here’s some recent pics, mostly of Enzo.

Our first walk as a family of five

Taking a nap with Dad

Up close and personal with Enzo

Enzo’s first bath

Hanging out after his bath